Sprint racing pole sitter Max Verstappen has been summoned by the stewards of the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix for potentially overtaking Lewis Hamilton under yellow flags during sprint qualifying.
The incident took place in SQ1 when Sergio Pérez crashed his Cadillac into the right-hand Turn 5 barriers, damaging his front wing.
Perez’s front wing came loose at Turn 8, and Hamilton (after completing a lap) exited Turn 5 with Verstappen (on a flying lap) behind him.
Verstappen caught and passed Hamilton between turns 7 and 8, where single-wave yellows were deployed for Perez’s debris.
Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase told him “you are in yellow”, then reiterated “only one yellow”.
Verstappen continued to attack until turns 10 and 11 when he came on the radio to say “um, I think I have to retire… I’m going to let Lewis pass again”.
The red flag then came out and Verstappen continued: “I think I passed him before the yellow, but I just wanted to be safe.”
Technical problems meant onboard cameras were not available to determine when exactly yellow flags were displayed.
The outside view certainly shows that they are absent when Verstappen is alongside Hamilton’s Ferrari, but the key question will be whether they were present before Verstappen overtook him.
This will be decided at a stewards’ hearing with Verstappen and Hamilton, which will take place at 10:15 p.m. local time in Singapore.
If Verstappen is found guilty, he is likely to lose his sprint pole, with a grid penalty being the usual punishment for such infractions.
Gn sports
